North Haven — The first school theatrical production of the season is taking place the last weekend of October on the island of North Haven ... and the cast and crew includes many an islander, not just students.

“All my shows except one-acts are community shows, otherwise I wouldn't have enough people,” said director Courtney Naliboff, the K-12 school’s music, theater and English teacher.

The show, “10 Ways to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse,” will be presented Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m.; and Sunday at 1 p.m., Oct. 27 through 29, at Waterman’s Community Center. The Don Zolidis comedy is described as “a handy and hilarious guide to survival.”

These two groups are, of necessity, in conflict, so Tom Emerson is coaching fight choreography. Guest designer Michael Cole did the lighting, Bill Trevaskis the sound design and Carrie Brezzo the costume design.

The North Haven Community School’s middle school art classes worked on scene design and construction with Brett Thompson and Amanda LaBelle; and makeup design with Tom Emerson and Amanda LaBelle ... and professional makeup artist Katie Machaiek. Daughter of Oceanside High School drama teacher/director Alison Machaiek and a Rockland District High School alum, Machaiek lives and works in California, doing makeup for television, music videos and the occasional indie film.

“Courtney reached out to me, asking if doing a class in person was possible. I haven't had a chance to go back to Maine in a while, as I've been very busy in L.A. working on several television shows,” said Machaiek via email.

Machaiek has been on a television show herself, competing in the fourth season of SyFy’s “Face Off.” For several years, she did faces for Universal Studios Hollywood’s seasonal Who-tacular Grinchmas.

Nathan Fielder's personal makeup artist for Season 4 of “Nathan For You” (currently airing on Comedy Central), Machaiek also is working as an additional makeup artist on a couple of episodes of the new show “S.W.A.T.”, which premieres in November on CBS. In September, she was “in charge of the blood” and some face paint on the Superfruit “Future Friends” music video.

Machaiek and Naliboff decided on doing a video makeup demonstration. Using the FaceTime app, Machaiek did a live presentation to the students, using a model. She focused on creating a zombie with products “you can find in your local big box store. We also went over supplies, sanitation, tips and tricks, and the removal process.”

A prosthetics build took place the weekend before the show, and a practice run of the zombie makeup is set for production week, with the results emailed to Machaiek for feedback. She said she was looking forward to seeing what the islanders come up with.

“It was great to be able to teach a little bit of the craft to interested students,” said Machaiek. “I know I would have loved to have been part of a zombie play back in the day, so was happy to carve out time to make it happen.”

The kindergarten-through-adult cast will present the more-funny-than-scary show as a prelude to Halloween. Although parental judgment is advised, “10 Ways to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse” is appropriate for all ages. Waterman’s Community Center is adjacent to the ferry landing, and the Sunday matinee is between boats. To see more of Machaiek’s makeup work, visit the Makeup by Katie Machaiek Facebook page.

Staff Profile

Dagney has been providing Courier coverage of the local arts scene since 1985 and has helmed the multi-paper A&E section since it debuted in 2003. She has been a local performing artist, community and professional for more than 30 years; and spent a decade writing, producing and announcing on-air for several Midcoast radio stations. When not in the NewsNest, Dagney likes to be in motion.